North London Cares has brought together young and older people for dance parties, choirs, pub clubs and new technology workshops.
Photograph: Alamy

December has only just begun, but it already feels that there may be a winter of discontent in social care. The promise of relief has not materialised, as no new money was laid out in the budget. While a £2bn cash injection was welcome last year, recent research has shown it’s far too little to plug the gap.

Q&A

What is the social care green paper?

The much-anticipated green paper on social care for older people is due to be published in the autumn of 2018. The government originally promised the green paper before last year's general election, but then said it would be unveiled before MPs' summer recess – although there were hopes it would appear much sooner.

It was also hoped the paper would address needs across the entire adult social care sector. Instead, the paper will be limited to the government’s plans for improving care and support for older people and tackling the challenges presented by an ageing population.

There will be a "parallel work stream" on working age disabled adults, but some are concerned this report will focus on getting more disabled people into work.

The government has invited a number of people to advise on the paper, including Paul Burstow, chair of the Social Care Institute for Excellence; and Caroline Abrahams, charity director of Age UK. However, no user or care worker representatives have been invited.

During a cabinet reshuffle in early January, Jeremy Hunt became secretary of state for health and social care. Despite already having social care in his mandate, the change gave Hunt lead responsibility for the green paper.

The proposals set out in the paper will build on the additional £2bn the government has provided to meet social care needs, reduce pressures on NHS services and stabilise the social care provider market over the next three years. Once published, the paper will be subject to a full public consultation.

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The response to the latest announcement on the care and support green paper has been, at best, muted. More has been said about what it doesn’t cover – young adults and carers – than what it does. Then there is the daily battle against delayed transfers of care – a fight that could turn challenging if we have a bad flu outbreak.

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There is, I think, a shard of light penetrating through the gloom; this statement from the first secretary of state, Damian Green, about the green paper:

Our vision for care must also incorporate the wider networks of support and services which help older people to live independently, including the crucial role of housing and the interaction with other public services.

It’s loaded with promise if we make the case that this suggests a way forward. It offers hope for a number of reasons.

First, it acknowledges that social care encompasses more than just services such as residential homes or home care provision. It is vital that these distinct services provide excellent care, meeting the standards set out by the Care Quality Commission, but they cannot deliver holistic care and support on their own.

We need an ecosystem of support: good information and advice, access to volunteers, well supported carers, good quality housing, peer support and networks working together to keep people independent.

In Kent, a community interest company called Skillnet Group discovered that young people with learning disabilities did not want the services being offered, such as day centres. They are now supported to gain opportunities and become more independent in learning, housing, work, health, money, travel, leisure and relationships.

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Second, Green recognises the important role that housing – a sector often viewed separately – plays in reforming social care.

Housing is already an integral part of the social care system, relieving pressure on the NHS by “facilitating early hospital discharge, reducing A&E attendance and unplanned admissions, delaying a move into residential care, reducing reliance on domiciliary care and supporting people to live independently at homes,” according to Jeremy Porteus of the Housing Learning Improvement Network.

Third, the statement acknowledges the importance of wider networks of support to maintain people’s independence. We at the Social Care Institute for Excellence hope they mean social networks, and not only formal statutory services – although these are important.

With the right investment and co-production, we can build networks of support around people, reducing their social isolation and increasing their wellbeing.

In Newcastle, Chain Reaction focuses on the social isolation of older people. Community pioneers work with more than 100 older people to connect them with opportunities in their neighbourhoods and to find ways they can make a contribution.

In London, young people and older people are working together to create a range of activities as part of North London Cares such as dance parties, new technology workshops, back to work business visits, choirs, games nights, pub clubs, podcast clubs and more.

The vision for care and support encapsulated in Green’s statement offers us some hope in an otherwise difficult time for social care. Let’s hope it becomes a reality after the green paper is published next summer.

Ewan King is director of business development and delivery at the Social Care Institute for Excellence (Scie)